Why a comprehensive car insurance policy matters

Road accidents in Malaysia have been steadily on the rise over the years.

Ever thought how great it would be if a car insurance policy isn’t mandatory? Or how much we’d all be able to save every year if only we could renew our road taxes without being insured? When you’re done reading about Malaysia’s road accident statistics that follow, you might just end up having second thoughts …

Officially, how does Malaysia fare in terms of road accidents?

According to the Malaysia Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS), road accidents in Malaysia have been steadily on the rise over the years, from 250,429 cases in 2000 to 414,421 cases in 2010. Percentage wise, that’s a 65.5% jump in only a decade.

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In terms of fatalities caused by road accidents, the numbers have also been escalating, from 6,035 cases in 2000 to 6,872 cases in 2010. Though the figures seem somewhat less drastic compared to the rise in overall road accidents, keep in mind it actually means that there’re approximately 19 fatalities caused by road accidents every day – which is surely a cause for concern.

Malaysia’s road accident statistics

Year

Population

Vehicles Registered

Road Accidents

Road Casualties

Road Deaths

1995

20,096,700

6,802,375

162,491

52,152

5,712

1996

21,169,000

7,686,684

189,109

53,475

6,304

1997

21,665,600

8,550,469

215,632

56,574

6,302

1998

22,179,500

9,141,357

211,037

55,704

5,740

1999

22,711,900

9,929,951

223,166

52,937

5,794

2000

23,263,600

10,598,804

250,429

50,200

6,035

2001

23,795,300

11,302,545

265,175

50,473

5,849

2002

24,526,500

12,068,144

279,711

49,552

5,891

2003

25,048,300

12,819,248

298,653

52,741

6,286

2004

25,580,000

13,828,889

326,815

54,091

6,228

2005

26,130,000

15,026,660

328,264

47,012

6,200

2006

26,640,000

15,790,732

341,252

35,425

6,287

2007

27,170,000

16,813,943

363,319

33,999

6,282

2008

27,730,000

17,971,901

373,071

32,274

6,527

2009

28,310,000

19,016,782

397,330

31,417

6,745

2010

28,910,000

20,188,565

414,421

28,269

6,872

Source: Malaysia Institute of Road Safety Research

In terms of the latest figures from a global authority, World Health Ranking had Malaysia ranked at 20th for Death Rate caused by road traffic accidents – which is higher than any other country in South East Asia with the exception of Thailand.

According to World Health Ranking, Malaysia currently has approximately 34.5 cases of fatalities caused by road accidents for every 100,000 population. Comparatively, Singapore (ranked 175th) and China (ranked 67th) measure at 5.3 and 20.8 respectively. Both a country that is significantly smaller and a country that is significantly larger are doing way better than us, which is certainly food for thought.

But the situation is getting better, right?

Unfortunately for drivers in Malaysia, there isn’t a lot suggesting that our road accident situation is getting better. Quite the opposite, the experts are predicting that things are going to get much worse.

According to the latest research by MIROS, road fatalities in Malaysia are expected to rise to 8,760 cases by 2015, and all the way to 10,716 by 2020. To put things into perspective, that’s approximately 29 people having their lives taken away by road accidents every day by the year 2020. Worrying trend? Absolutely.

Road fatalities forecast

Source: Malaysia Institute of Road Safety Research

Still think you don’t need that comprehensive car insurance?

With the worsening trend in road accidents within Malaysia, there is little indication that we would be marching towards a nation where car insurance is optional any time soon. On the contrary, past statistics and future forecasts are pointing to the fact that we do need that comprehensive car insurance policy, simply because our chances of getting caught up in a car accident are increasing by the years.

To all iMoney readers: do attempt to adopt safer driving behaviour starting today and make our roads safer for everyone. If we all do our parts, there’s always a chance that things might turn out different!